Good Tuesday Morning, Fellow Seekers. As is so often the case, we're seriously pressed for time this morning. So let's just get on with it, shall we?

Democrat Paul Kanjorski ... ... has hit the airwaves in his steel cage match against Republican Lou Barletta in the 11th CD. A new TV spot slams Barletta as the "failed mayor" of scenic Hazleton, Pa., our friends at PA2010 report this morning. The spot, which makes Hazleton even more post-apocalyptic than it usually does, criticizes Barletta for hiking property and earned income taxes. It also takes him to task for the city having one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. It is, in short, the textbook negative ad. Here's the clip:

Speaking Of TV ... ... Democrat Joe Sestakhas also bought some TV time in his fight against Republican Pat Toomey. More perceptive readers may have noticed that Toomey -- through spots of his own or through third-party ads -- has spent most of the summer batting Sestak around like a pinata. Sestak's absence from the airwaves has allowed Toomey to seize the momentum, and, in an example of what should never happen in a tight contest, to define Sestak before the Delaware County congressman has had a chance to define himself to the statewide electorate.

This Is Why ... ... you always watch what you say when there's a video camera around. Republican 10th CD candidate Tom Marino was recently caught on tape asking protesters if they were on welfare or had a job, PoliticsPA reports. The confrontation happened on Aug. 26, during a joint appearance with Pat Toomey. Here's the clip:

Ouch ... that's just ugly ...

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition): The Senate Republican Campaign Committee holds a ... what else? ... annual golf outing today at noon at Saucon Valley Country Club in Lehigh County. Admission is $500 for a reception and $4,000 for a foursome (fighting so many jokes here ... you have no idea). And if you've ever wondered what U.S. Rep. Tim Holden might be like when he's schnockered, you can find out tonight at 5:30 p.m. during a Happy Hour reception for the 17th District Democrat. This one's at McGrath's Pub in Harrisburg. Admission runs $25 to $100.

Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers. We were shocked and saddened to learn last night of the sudden passing of Barry Fox, the deputy director of the state Office of Open Records, and a former reporter with the Patriot-News of Harrisburg.

At the time of his death, Fox, 47, was vacationing with his family at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Township, the Patriot-News reported late Sunday night.

Fox's wife, Patriot-News Editorial Page Editor Jeanette Krebs, was one of the first people we met when we touched down in Harrisburg in 1999. Krebs was then the newspaper's Capitol bureau chief.

It was through Jeanette that we became acquainted with Barry, with whom we soon bonded through our involvement in Harrisburg's local music scene. He then covered pop culture for the newspaper.

At all times, Barry was a gentleman, a good father, a fine husband, a talented reporter and a forceful advocate for government transparency. We count ourselves lucky to have called him friend.

He will be truly missed. And all our thoughts and prayers go out to Jeanette and their two girls today.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ... ... urged a crowd of about 1,100 here Friday to stand up for family, faith and country, telling them, "You don't need an office. You don't need a title to fight for what is right.

"You can do this. You just have to stand up and speak up for what you believe in," said the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, who is slated to appear in Washington today for TV host Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally on the National Mall.

Palin made her remarks at the annual banquet of the right-leaning Pennsylvania Family Institute, a Harrisburg group that opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.

Reflecting on the well-publicized events surrounding her own family, Palin said she hopes others will "take inspiration from our tough times."

Republican Gubernatorial Candidate ...Tom Corbett now says he misspoke when he told a Pittsburgh television reporter last spring that the "No Tax Hike" pledge he took earlier this year also extended to fee increases.

"I obviously didn't again explain myself fully enough on that. And so if there's a misunderstanding, we apologize for that," Corbett said after a campaign stop at a foods manufacturer in Palmyra, Lebanon County this morning.

Delano: "You're pledging no tax increases of any type? Fees, taxes, state income tax, the sales tax - can you be precise as to what you - "

Corbett: "The pledge as it's written - and I don't have it written here - is no tax increases during the course of the next term. That's exactly what it says. That's what we're gonna aim for. No tax increases whatsoever."

Since at least mid-July, Corbett said the pledge excludes fees and other levies that are not labeled exclusively as taxes, the Associated Press reported.

"He's been all over the state talking about this no-tax pledge," Onorato said in a conference call with reporters. He said Corbett's conflicting statements "just the latest example of Tom flip-flopping every time the pressure builds."

In Lebanon County this morning, Corbett was sticking to the language of the no-tax pledge (which does provide some exemptions for fees), arguing that, "if you go and look at the Americans for Tax Reform, they say fees are not part of that. Do we have any intention of increasing the fees? No. OK, but fees are not part of taxes under their rules."

Onorato's spokesman, Brian Herman, said the semantics of the no-tax pledge matter less than what Corbett says he plans to do as governor.

Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Just a few quick updates before we hit the campaign trail this morning.

A New Jersey Gaming Consultant ...
...who helped create the rules and regulations for Pennsylvania's gaming industry and
later accused the Rendell administration of manipulating slots licensing has testified before a state grand jury in Pittsburgh, our mothership colleague, Matt Birkbeck, reports this morning.Fred Gushin, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group of Linwood, N.J., appeared Aug. 19 and spent most of the day before the grand jury, which is probing the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.Gushin declined to talk about his appearance, saying the court has imposed restrictions.
"I cannot speak about my testimony to the grand jury," he said.Doug Harbach, a gaming board spokesman, declined to comment, saying "at the request of the attorney general, we are not authorized to comment in matters involving any grand jury proceedings, including whether former or current employees have testified before the grand jury."

U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper ...
... has launched her air campaign, our friends at PA2010 report this morning.
The Erie Democrat's 30-second spot focuses on her biography and the fact that "the reason I come back home every weekend is that the solutions to the problems we face are found here.”
Here's the clip:

Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Things are a little sleepy as we come into the final furlong of the summer.

Labor Day is just around the corner. And pretty soon, we'll be back to our usual tweedy selves. Which remind us to check on whether our Irish Uncle Sean O'HaganO'RiordanO'RourkeMcCapitolIdeas has fired up production at his corduroy elbow patch factory for the coming season.

But betwixt then and now, there's still more than a couple of hot days to go. Hopefully, we can try to squeeze in a bit more time at the beach or by the pool before summer gets put away for another year.

In One Of The Surest Signs ...
... that a fall general election season is upon us, pollsters at Franklin &
Marshall College return this morning with a new poll finding that Democrats are suffering from something of an enthusiasm gap this year, the Patriot-News reports.
Just 37 percent of Democrats fall into the most likely to vote category compared to 45 percent of Republicans, F&M pollster Terry Madonna told the PN.
Providing what we assume to be a bit of wry understatement, Madonna notes that, "Democrats are at a decided disadvantage when it comes to voter motivation."
In the race for U.S. Senate, GOP candidate Pat Toomey leads Democrat Joe Sestak 31-28 percent in a hypothetical head-to-head match.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett holds an equally wide 38-27 percent lead over Democrat Dan Onorato, pollsters found.
Despite Corbett's wide lead, most voters still aren't plugged into the gubernatorial contest, which isn't a surprise since no one's dropped serious coin on advertisements yet.
A clear majority, 53 percent, say they don't know enough about Onorato to make up their minds, compared to 40 percent for Corbett.
The survey included 577 adult residents, including 485 registered voters and 327 likely voters.
The margin of error among registered voters is 4.1 percentage points. The results for likely voters have a margin of error of 5.4 percentage points.

It's Only Been A Day ...
... and we're already tired of the sparring between guv candidates Dan
Onorato and Tom Corbett over which of them is more allergic to tax increases.

Democrat Onorato held a conference call with reporters this morning to accuse Corbett of flip-flopping on a much-publicized pledge to not raises after his spokesman said yesterday that Corbett might consider raising fees if elected in November.

"Yesterday, he feels the heat, now, it doesn't include fees," Onorato said. "Which one is it? That’s he problem, Tom isn’t ready to govern. Every time he gets a little pressure, he flip-flops his pov. I really don’t know what he stands for. I have no idea what the pledge means."

The pledge in question here is one put out by the right-leaning Americans for Tax Reform. And the heat Onorato is referring to his is his trip to Shaler Township, Allegheny County, where he dredged up a property tax hike Corbett voted in favor of 22 years ago while serving as a township commissioner.

Onorato is exercised because, back in March, Corbett had the following conversation with KDKA-TV reporter Jon Delano:

Jon Delano: "You're pledging no tax increases of any type? Fees, taxes, state income tax, the sales tax - can you be precise as to what you - "

Corbett: "The pledge as it's written - and I don't have it written here - is no tax increases during the course of the next term. That's exactly what it says. That's what we're gonna aim for. No tax increases whatsoever."

Delano: "And that would include ... "

Corbett: "Those are state. Those are states."

Delano: "...fees on use of services, things like that?"

Corbett: "That's right."

Delano: "Everything?"

Corbett: "That's right."

The anti-Corbett site CasablancaPA dredged up the video, and naturally, the Onorato camp pounced.

When it was pointed out to Onorato that the pledge actually gives signers a bye on some fee increases, he dismissed it out of hand.

"I don’t care about someone else’s definition. These are his own words. He’s going to sit down and give his definition, and then change it later. I don’t need to hear some academic defintion. This is Tom Corbett’s own definition. These are Tom Corbett’s own words. There’s no way he can avoid this flip-flop. We have it on tape," Onorato said, his voice rising in annoyance.

Apparently spotting a nearby Sherwin-Williams outlet, Onorato's campaign motorcade stopped in and re-emerged with several gallon-sized cannisters of matte red, which the Democratic nominee used to thoroughly paint himself into a corner by vowing to not raise the state's personal income tax or its sales tax if elected.

"This is no time to even talk about revenue incerases
Ripping a page directly from Corbett's playbook, Onorato then proclaimed that he believes he can balance the state budget; replace $2 billion in lost federal stimulus money; cure a $4 billion pension obligation and repay $3 billion in UC benefits borrowed from the Feds by making state government run as efficiently as a Swiss watch and not raises taxes.

Good Afternoon, Everyone.
After a week's break, "Pennsylvania's Favorite Political Podcast (TM)"
returns to tackle the latest twists and turns in the debate over transportation funding.

In the race for governor, a tax is still a tax, a fee is just a fee, and a testy debate over who's going to raise what (or not) has taken center stage.

We'll turn our attentions briefly to the U.S. Senate race and examine the fortunes of an apparently surging Pat Toomey.

And in Drops of Knowledge, hosts John Micek and Alex Roarty begin a sublime discussion of the new English Premier League season, only to have guest analyst Tom Barnes of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette harshes the mellow by pointing out that the Pittsburgh Pirates are just as wretched as they've been all season long.

You know the drill, you can listen live in your browser or save to your hard drive for hours of hi-fi goodness. Either way, the show starts just below.

All Apologies ...
... to the great Paul Weller, but we couldn't help but be reminded of one of the English rocker's signature
tunes as we read this morning that Pennsylvania had failed to make the cut in the national Race to the Top competition for education funding.

Making one of the great "We Wuz Robbed" speeches of his administration, the Democratic governor whinnied to reporters yesterday that the state was penalized for being honest in its application — while other states were rewarded for making promises they can't keep.

"In all fairness we should have won," Rendell said Tuesday, shortly after the 10 Round 2 winners were announced by federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan. " … I think we got punished for being honest and I don't think some states have been."

Pennsylvania was one of 19 finalists in line for a share of $3.32 billion in the federal stimulus program that aims to inspire improvement and innovation,our mothership colleague, Steve Esack reports.

But it lost out to Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia. Earlier this year, Pennsylvania ranked seventh in Round 1, when only two states, Delaware and Tennessee, were selected.

Seriously? Delaware? We lost to Delaware? That's just cold.

Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Joe Sestak ...
... picked up an endorsement from former Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska yesterday.
The move seems intended to counter criticism from Sestak's opponent, Pat Toomey, that the Delaware County congressman is a European-style liberal who will force your children to learn French, watch and love Jerry Lewis movies and require you to buy all your furniture from Ikea.
"I did not take an oath of office to the Republican Party," Hagel said. "My first obligation is to do what I think is right. Regardless of the political consequences, if you don't have the courage to do that or display that every day, you shouldn't be in the business."
Hagel said he'd "never met a public servant so committed to making a better world," our Washington colleague, Colby Itkowitz, reports this morning.

The U.S. Department of Education today announced 10 winners: Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. The amounts range from $75 million each for Hawaii, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia to $700 million for New York.

In the first round, Pennsylvania came in seventh, but just two winners -- Delaware and Tennessee -- were selected.

This time, Pennsylvania was one of 19 finalists chosen from 36 applicants."

Mr. Onorato called a press conference in front of the Shaler municipal building to assail Mr. Corbett over the long-ago property tax vote and remind voters that he never approved property tax increases as Allegheny County executive or as a Pittsburgh City Council member in the 1990s.

"Now the voters are going to see 'Who is this guy who says he can balance budgets?' Well guess what? He had a chance to do it and he shows us his true colors. He votes for property tax increases. That's what he believes in and I don't," Mr. Onorato said."

Good Tuesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
We don't know about you, but we're still recovering from the madness of yesterday's Transportation Day extravaganza in the state Capitol.

Frankly, we're not sure which was wilder: the triple-threat of Gov. Ed's news conference, PennDOT Secretary Al Biehler's appearance before legislative leaders and Pat Toomey's lecture on macroeconomics at the Pennsylvania Press Club; or the all-night rave that Biehler hosted at Soldier's Grove, where he spun some killer tracks from Thievery Corporation, LCD Soundsystem and Simian Mobile Disco, among others.

It was pretty crazy, let us tell you, and we're really going to have to find out who supplied them with those "$3 Billion For Roads and Bridges" glow sticks they distributed to the crowd.

Here's a sample of some of the killer tunage:

OK ... enough madness. The real news is weird enough as it is. So let's get right into it. It starts, as always, after the jump.

Gov. Ed ...
... and his transportation secretary urged lawmakers today to underwrite a massive
injection of public money into Pennsylvania’s deteriorating network of roads and bridges, as well as its cash-strapped mass-transit agencies.

But it appeared unlikely that legislators will give full approval before the November elections on the administration’s $1 billion proposal, which includes a new tax on oil company profits and increases in motor vehicle license and registration fees.

At a morning news conference, Rendell made at least his third attempt this year to sell the lawmakers on the plan, framing it, once again, as critical to public safety and the state’s economy. Repairing roads and bridges will save lives and make it easier for businesses to get their goods to market.

“I believe quite strongly that the time to act is now,” Rendell said. “I know there’s 10 weeks to go before an election, but there’s no excuse to shirk our responsibilities.”

As he has before, Rendell proposed a tax on the profits of oil companies. Levied at 8 percent, he said it would raise $576 million a year. The Democratic governor, who leaves office in January, also said he wants to impose inflation-adjusted fees on motor vehicle license and registration fees, raising about $434 million.

This year, Rendell and lawmakers must find a way to fill a $472 million transportation funding gap created when the federal government shot down the state’s application to convert Interstate 80 in northern Pennsylvania into a toll road.

A transportation study commission had previously said the state needs to raise $1.7 billion a year to meet its existing transportation and mass-transit funding needs. Rendell said today that figure had been adjusted upward to more than $3 billion a year.

But will all 203 members of the state House and half the 50-member Senate up for re-election in November, lawmakers – of both parties -- have evinced little interest in raising taxes on voters already dizzy from the roller-coaster economy.

“My thought has always been that these are quick fixes,” said Sen. John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. “In Harrisburg, once we address an issue we leave it alone for the next eight years and say we’re done.”

House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, who must balance the twin demands of both supporting Rendell’s agenda and preserving his party’s narrow, five-seat majority, said there’s a pressing need to act now.

But if lawmakers are to act, they have a limited window of opportunity. The House and Senate do not return to Harrisburg until mid-September and are in session for little more than a month before an election season recess. With pension reform and a proposed tax on natural gas drillers already on the agenda, lawamkers will return to a full calendar.

Adding further complication is the majority-Republican Senate’s insistence that it will not return for a post-election lame duck session in mid-November, meaning that even if the House does succeed in passing something it could die in the Senate, leaving it to Rendell’s successor and the new Legislature to take up the issue.

On Monday, the Senate’s top Republican sent a clear signal that that’s what could very well happen.

“There’s nothing that could happen between now and January that would be changed by our coming back in a lame duck session,” Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said. “Certainly, we will not return for the sole purpose of imposing an additional $1 billion in new taxes on Pennsylvanians.”

Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Well, we're back, rested and ready to take on the world. We're refreshed from seven days spent puttering around the spacious confines of state Casa de Capitol Ideas, where we caught up on our reading, refined our grilling skills, watched an ungodly amount of soccer and generally did our bit to keep up western civilization.

A few firsts while we were away -- Little Miss Capitol Ideas rode her first roller-coaster and came through like a champ. And before you ask, yes, her father was watching from the safety of ground level. She also graduated to the deep end of the pool at her daily swimming lesson. As ever, we will continue to delve into the shallow end of Pennsylvania politics.

Speaking of which, there's a bit of ground to cover, so let's keep the nautical metaphors rolling, and dive right into it, shall we?

It's Transportation Day ...
... here in the Capitol.
At 11 a.m., Gov. Ed holds a presser in the main Reception Room to no doubt excoriate
lawmakers for failing to return to town to deal with the thorny question of transportation funding.
At 11:40 a.m., PennDOT Secretary Al Biehler appears before a session of the Bipartisan Bicameral Transportation Caucus. You'll find him the Majority Caucus Room on the Capitol's first floor.
It's expected to be a packed house, and they're talking about setting up spillover seating in the Main Rotunda, where attendees can watch on CCTV or flip over to the Little League World Series in Williamsport -- whatever catches your fancy.

The Inquirer Previews This Morning's Proceedings ...
... where it finds Rep. Rick Geist, R-Blair, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee predicting that lawmakers are "70 percent toward getting a bill to the governor's desk," before the end of this fall's legislative session.
The House and Senate return for five weeks of session staring in mid-September.
Proposals currently on the table include hikes in motor vehicle registration and license fees; a tax on oil company profits and a 4-cent hike in the state's gas tax.
It's unlikely, however, that lawmakers would agree to a tax hike just weeks before an election in a year in which most voters are still getting pummeled by the economy.

The Political Law Of Conservation Of Matter.
More astute readers will recall that the above law holds that veteran political hands can neither be created nor destroyed -- they simply change form.
Thus we can report to you that longtime Capitol lawyer Christopher Craig has signed on as chief counsel for state treasurer Rob McCord.

On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning.
Here's Robyn, and "Dancing on My Own."

Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
We are technically on vacation this week, but such is our affection and esteem for you that we couldn't let the morning pass without providing you with a quick place-setter for your day.

Here's a quick round-up of the best of the day's political headlines:

The Current And Former ...
... secretaries of the Department of Environmental Protection differ over the toll of budget cuts to the agency, Capitolwire reports.
Current DEP boss John Hanger says the agency is doing just fine, thank you very much. But Schweiker-era jefeDavid Hess begs to differ.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).
Again with the Republicans and their golf. How much golf can you play, seriously?
At 10:30 a.m., Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, holds his annual golf outing. No info on the location, but admission ranges from $100 to $1,000.
At 11 a.m., the House Republican Campaign Committee holds its annual golf outing at the French Creek Golf Club in Elverson, Pa. Admission ranges from $500 for dinner to $6,000 for a "hole" sponsor. No, seriously, you can sponsor a hole.
And at 11:30 a.m., Rep. Tom Killion, R-Delaware, holds his annual bake-off for orphans ... no, kidding, it's another golf outing. This one's at Waynesborough Country Club in Paoli, Pa. Admission runs $100 to $1,200.

"Although taxpayers spend an average of $1.13 million a year to staff the office, the duties of the lieutenant governor are few: chair a local government advisory board with no power, sit on an emergency management panel convened only after the governor has declared an emergency, review applications for pardons and pass them along to the boss, preside over the Senate and wait for the governor to fall over dead.

"...When Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati succeeded Knoll, he eliminated most of the staff, put Tony Moscato in charge and loaned him a couple of staffers from the Senate office. The administrative budget for the lieutenant governor has dropped from more than $1 million at the height of Knoll’s tenure to $178,000 spent last year."

A brief scheduling note: We'll be on vacation next week, and thus will be on a lighter than normal posting schedule. You can still expect morning round-ups, but beyond that, we'll see you all back here on Aug. 23.

Good Afternoon, Everyone.
Better late than never, we're back with another edition of Pennsylvania's Favorite
Political Podcast.

Inside the pod this week, we review Philly Daily News columnist Stu Byfoksky's annual comedy charity night; dip a toe into the latest goings-on in the race for governor, and examine the impact of that federal stimulus extension that was passed earlier this week.

In drops of knowledge, Scott Detrow waxes lyrical on the return of pitching great Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, special guest Laura Olson talks third-party candidates, and John L. Micek is a "Fool in the Rain."

Regular listeners know the drill. You can listen live in your browser, or save-click to your hard drive for hours of high-fidelity audio fun.

The two sides spent yesterday trading barbs over when they're finally going to debate each other, with Onorato claiming that Corbett's ducking him, while Corbett claims he'll debate Onorato when he's ready, thank you very much.

Onorato got things rolling during a stop in Hershey on Thursday morning, charging that Corbett's thrice dodged his invitations to debate, most recently at this week's conclave of the PA County Commissioners Association up in State College.

"We both get invited to go to the County Commissioners Association up at Penn State this week. He originally says he can't make the night we're supposed to do it. He can only make the next morning. I offered to change my calendar to go the next morning. he responds, 'No, I want to do it by myself," Onorato said.

More astute readers may recall that, earlier this summer, Onorato challenged Corbett to a series of 14 debates across Pennsylvania, the grueling schedule mirroring the unusually large number of forums that took place during the Democratic primary.

So far, the only debate definitely on the books has been scheduled for Sept. 27 in Hershey in front of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

In his chat with reporters on Thursday, Onorato also accused Corbett of ducking him at earlier appearances before the Pennsylvania League of Cities meeting in Bethlehem and the PA Environmental Council in Philadelphia.

"We should be doing this every week at these forums that we're invited to," Onorato said. "He's dodged three of them already. I'm prepared to do as many in front of business chambers. But we should also be doing them in front of the League of Cities together, the county commissioners together. They should see us on stage together and be able to ask us, where do we stand on these issues?"

Reached for comment on Thursday afternoon, Corbett spokesman
Kevin Harley said his boss had been told the gig before the county commissioners was billed as a speech, and not a debate, and those are the ground rules to which they agreed.

Harley told Capitol Ideas that Corbett intends to meet Onorato in other venues besides the PA chamber event next month. But, he added, "Tom Corbett's schedule is not dictated by the wants of Dan Onorato."

"We set our schedule regardless of what Dan Onorato wants to do," Harley said, getting a touch on the bristly side. "We attend events that make sense for Tom Corbett's schedule."

The rest of today's news starts, which was not subject to the whims of Tom Corbett's schedule, starts after the jump.

Good Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Please allow us to apologize in advance if we're a little distracted this morning.

A newsroom colleague left their cellphone in the office overnight and it's been
ceaselessly playing a strain of techno music that sounds like nothing so much as Kylie Minogue tumbling through the dryer while singing a rousing chorus of "Can't Get You Out of My Head," through an electric shaver.

Though we will praise the virtues of Ms. Minogue's music to the high heavens at the slightest provocation (say whatever you want, there is no disputing the virtues of the perfect piece of disposable pop), the utterly unique form of torture we've been undergoing this morning may make us reevaluate our affection for a large newspaper in Pittsburgh whose name rhymes with "Schmost-Schmazette."

Ahhh ... it's temporarily stopped. So, while we gather some sanity and power tools to keep the accursed tone from happening again, why don't you check out this handy digest of the day's best political headlines?

Democratic Gubernatorial Candididate ...
... Dan Onorato says he supports school vouchers for low-income families, the Inquirer reports, generating a headline sure not to endear him to large teachers' unions.
During a news conference at Philly City Hall, Onorato embraced the policies of former primary rival, Sen. Tony Williams, saying he supported "grants that would give low-income families in academically distressed communities direct choices about which schools their children should attend."
The policy pivot earned Williams' public support -- and maybe, just maybe -- the financial backing of the megabucks, pro-vouchers investment bankers who pumped millions of dollars into Williams' ill-starred primary campaign.
"Throughout the primary, I had great respect for how Tony Williams kept the focus on Pennsylvania's children, and the importance of improving education for their sake," Onorato said.

So That's What Repeated Visits ...
... to the major primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina means.
Stumbling across the obvious, KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh reports that former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Va., erm ... sorry ... R-Pa., is testing the waters for a presidential run in 2012.
Mostly keeping himself in suspense, Santorum said he'll make his decision public sometime later this year or early next year.

Looking To Fill A $282 Million Hole ...
... in the state budget, a conservative lawmaker says $100 million in WAMs should be axed from the state budget.
With porcine animals lolling gently across the wind currents behind him, Rep. Curt Schroder, R-Chester, said at a news conference that, "WAMs shouldn't have been included in this budget in the first place."
"They are unessential and take money away from necessary state functions ... When red ink drips off every page of the budget, it is inexcusable to have legislative play money to the tune of $100 million in the budget. I call on the governor to do the right thing and eliminate this unnecessary funding first, before cutting other areas.”
Somehow managing to keep the milk dribbling from her nose from gales of hysterical laughter, a Democratic spokeswoman said there are no programs in the budget that could be considered WAMs.“Rep. Schroder is entitled to his opinion, but just because some elected officials and members of the press continue to refer to these as WAMs doesn’t make it so," House Dems spokeswoman Johnna Pro said, as she actually triggered the Richter Scale with her efforts to keep a straight face.

The PA AFL-CIO ...
... meets in Hershey this morning to dole out candidate endorsements. There should be absolutely no surprises here.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition)
There's a full slate of political events to empty the pockets of donors across the length and breadth of our fair Commonwealth. Here's the rundown:
If you're not in Pittsburgh this morning,then you're missing a breakfast reception for GOP 12th CD hopeful Tim Burns. Admission is $250 to $2,400.
At 1:30 p.m,, permanently tanned House GOP Leader John Boehner makes a stop in Harrisburg for Dave Argall's congressional campaign. It'll cost you $1,000 to bask in Boehner's turkey-basted glory.
At 2 p.m, Rep. Brian Ellis, R-Butler, holds his annual golf outing at the Birdsfoot Golf Club in scenic Freeport, Pa. Admission runs from as little as $50 to as much as $2,500, depending upon your level of enthusiasm for Mr. Ellis.
At 4 p.m, the Cumberland County GOP holds its summer round-up at the Mechanicsburg Club picnic grounds. Admission is a decidedly more (small-D) democratic $10 a head. Kids aged six or younger get in free.
At 5 p.m, Dave Argall shakes the money-tree again, with a reception with a reception on an unspecified rooftop. Admission -- if you can find the roof -- runs $100 or $1,000. Added bonus -- no Boehner.
But if you can't get enough of Boehner today, you can find him at a 5:30 p.m. reception for U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach at Philadelphia Marriott in Conshohocken. Admission runs $250 to $5,000. Attendees must bring their own spray-on bronzer.

OK. That's it for now. We'll be back later in the day with more news and updates, as well as this week's edition of the "Politics as Usual," podcast.

Gov. Ed Talked To Legislative Leaders ...
... today and that's where he made it known that state spending will have to be cut by $282 million because of yesterday's U.S. House vote approving a $26 billion stimulus extension to the states.

For your reading pleasure, we have posted the administration's proposal to lawmakers:

Good Morning, Fellow Seekers.
We're bringing you a very special version of the CapIdeas Morning
Coffee, focusing solely on last night's annual comedy charity night put on by Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky.

For those not in the know, the event, now in its 20th year, annually brings together politicos, scribes and people who like to hear politicians try to be funny (on purpose) for a night of merriment benefiting the Delaware Valley chapter of "Variety," a children's charity.

Participants this year included gubernatorial candidates Dan Onorato (D) and Tom Corbett (R); U.S. Senate candidates Pat Toomey (R) and Joe Sestak (D); a slew of Congressional hopefuls; a couple of Congressional incumbents and former Philadelphia Flyers star Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, who played on Stanley Cup-winning teams in the 1970s.

As you might expect, there was some genuine humor (Democratic 6th CD candidate Manan Trivedi's jokes about being raised Indian-American in deepest, darkest Berks County just killed); some gentle partisanship (Corbett's jibes at Onorato), and the just, plain mean-spirited (U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's lengthy and spectacularly unfunny rant at Republicans).

More on all those in a bit.

This year's event took place at Finnigan's Wake, a club in the city's Northern Liberties neighborhood. The area, one wag explained, is known in shorthand as "NoLibs."

"And when Pat Toomey found out what it was called, he decided he wanted to move there," came the inevitable quip.

That should answer your first question about last night's proceedings: Yeah, but were they funny?

The results, to be blunt, were spectacularly uneven.

Onorato, who was running late because he was holding a fund-raiser at the Philadelphia Convention Center with former Prez Bill Clinton got off a crack at Toomey that required a little explaining:

"I found out he worked for the Club for Growth," Onorato said. "So I read an advertisement on the back of the Philadelphia City Paper to find out exactly what that was."

The back of the City Paper, readers, is where you'll find the adverts for ... ahhh ... "adult" services and entertainment. If you have to explain the joke ...

Here's some video of Onorato's appearance:

Republican Corbett opened the night. And we'll admit, having been there
more than once, it's always hard being the guy who goes first.

"I read the police blotter and found that two drunks had knocked over the statue of the Philly Phanatic," Corbett joked. "Now you know why I'm for the death penalty."

Wagner, 71, of Meadville, has been charged with conflict of interest and theft in connection with the incident. The proceeds of the fair are managed by the Crawford County Fair Board, but belong to the county, Corbett's office said.

In a press release, Corbett said that evidence and testimony against Wagner was heard by a statewide grand jury, which recommended the charges.

Corbett said Wagner, as the fair's treasurer, was responsible for maintaining records of fair revenues and making daily deposits. The fair is mostly a cash-based operation, with proceeds coming from ticket sales, entry fees and other payments during the week of the fair, he said.

Wagner was allegedly caught on surveillance video taking cash from an area where fair proceeds were stored and putting it in his pocket or wallet, the AG's office said.

Wagner was arraigned by a district magistrate in Meadville today and was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. He faces an Oct. 20 preliminary hearing.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 20th, at 8:30 a.m., before Meadville Magisterial District Judge William D. Chisholm.

Wagner, a Republican, won office in 2009, county records show. It was not clear if that was his first term.

Good Afternoon, Everyone.
Were you to turn on your Tee-Vee machines this afternoon to the C-Spans, you'd find the U.S. House of Representatives voting
for the very important Stimulus extension bill that will provide roughly $600 million in direct assistance to Pennsylvania and nearly $400 million for schools.

But what you will not find there, reports our Washington colleague, Colby Itkowitz, is Joe Sestak, who is in Scranton (the ancestral home of all Democrats ever) holding a fund-raiser for his U.S. Senate campaign with former President Bill Clinton.

Sestak, who represents the Delaware County-based 7th CD, has put up with quite a bit of criticism over the course of his Congressional career for missing votes.

According to Itkowitz, Sestak's folks did not return calls seeking comment.

House approval is pretty much fait accompli. Nonetheless, Gov. Ed Rendell has said he'll still have to trim programs and cut some jobs because the state is getting about $250 million less in federal assistance than it expected.

Lawmakers are expected to meet later this week to discuss the implications of those cuts.

(Update: Itkowitz has called to tell us that Sestak plans to bend the laws of space/time by casting a vote for the FMap bill. His event with Clinton is happening at almost exactly the same time).

Voiceover: Washington is failing. Bailouts, takeovers, a stimulus that gave us record debt without creating jobs. Congressman Joe Sestak voted for all of it.
Voiceover: Pat Toomey has a different plan.
Pat Toomey: We can have a booming economy if we end the bailouts, stop the runaway spending, reduce taxes for workers and job creating businesses, and lower health care costs by making insurance companies compete with each other.
Voiceover: More jobs, less government. Pat Toomey.
Pat Toomey: I’m Pat Toomey and I approved this message.

Good Morning, Fellow Seekers.
We're even more pressed for time than usual this morning, what with some misadventures
with Mrs. Capitol Ideas' family vehicle, in which we learned a flat tire changes itself no quicker if you bellow fantastical oaths (which violate the obscenity laws of the several states) at it.

But we view such experiences -- bruised hands, sweat-soaked shirts and the opprobrium of the neighbors -- as character-building experiences. After all, that which does not kill us or break our hands or leave us covered in road grime at 8 a.m. after being freshly bathed -- makes us stronger.

So, while we go off in search of coffee, crullers and the latest edition of Car & Driver, why don't you check out the brief selections of state news headlines below. We can almost guarantee that they were not crafted by maniacal engineers from Detroit who translate flat-tire instructions into their native Swedish, thence to ancient Hittite, and then (and only then) into the tongue of King James and Lear.

The State Gaming Control Board ...
... is still engaged in its handbags-at-20-paces fight with Treasurer Rob McCord over whether McCord can attend the board's meetings, the Patriot-News reports.
The board claims that McCord accepted $80k worth of campaign donations from casino lobbyists and gaming interests.
Wait ... so you can't be owned, body-and-soul by the casino industry? When did the board adopt that rule?

State Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario ...
... who we always loved because we called him "Joel Aria," and pretended he was an opera singer, is bound for D.C., where he will work on the Obama administration's ongoing agenda to turn the country into a large, tastefully appointed Ikea outlet.

Speaking Of Things That Are Unintentionally Funny.
Both Onorato and Republican Tom Corbett will be in attendance at Philly Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's annual charity comedy night in Philly. Watch this space for a full dispatch on Wednesday.

Gov. Ed ...
... is at Central Pennsylvania College in Enola, Cumberland County this morning, where he's participating in a transportation forum with USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood.

On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning.
How about a little Roots Manuva? Yes, please. Here he is with "Dreamy Days."

Finally, Should You Be Wondering ...
... about such things, yesterday* was Aug. 9, 2010, which means you had a chance to indulge your inner schoolkid and not be afraid to giggle when you tell people that it was 8-9-10.

All right, that's it for now. We'll be back a bit later this morning with more news and updates.

He May Only Have ...
... a few more months to occupy it, but Gov. Ed is apparently not going
to quietly relinquish his bully pulpit.

At a noontime newser where he announced that state Insurance Commissioner was departing for Washington to help work on healthcare reform, Rendell challenged his would-be successors to explain how they're going to balance the state budget without a tax increase next year.

As a refresher, Pennsylvania is staring down the barrel of a structural deficit of as much as $4 billion to $5 billion in FY2011-12 thanks to an explosion in state pension costs, the loss of federal stimulus money and the money it borrowed from the feds to cover ongoing unemployment costs for 600,000 jobless Pennsylvanians.

Republican Tom Corbett has taken a no-tax hike vow (that even fellow Republican Dominic Pileggithinks he'll be hard-pressed to meet) and Democrat Dan Onorato has said he thinks he can balance the budget on the backs of a new tax on Marcellus shale drillers.

"I would love for the free and vigorous press to as this important question and for them to be specific," Rendell challenged the assembled Capitol scribes. "If you ask, they won't answer. And if they do answer, they won't be specific."

When it comes to Corbett, Rendell was half-right. Political reporters across the state -- your humble blogger included -- have repeatedly pressed Corbett on how he intends to balance the books with budget cuts alone.

"We're going to do what's necessary. If we don't get re-elected, I don't care," Corbett told the newspaper's editorial board. "I'm at a beautiful stage in my life. If I get elected to governor and don't get re-elected, I can go do something else. This wasn't my ambition of my whole life, like I think (with) some people it tends to be."

Rendell still plans to meet with legislative leaders Wednesday to discuss the expected $250 million in cuts that will be necessary because of reduced federal stimulus money.
As he did last week, Rendell said he'd like lawmakers to consider ending the so-called "vendor discount," which gives large companies a discount for remitting their sales tax collections to the state on time. Eliminating the program would raise $75 million, he said.Rendell also said he's loathe to close the hole with one-time fixes alone, and wants to do something structurally to address the funding shortfall.

The Guv is also something of a closet Kenny Loggins/Messina fan, since he broke into a chorus of the soft-rocker's 1979 hit, "This Is It," when he was asked whether the state might receive additional stimulus funding in 2011 -- after he leaves office.
For the uninitiated, here's the tune:

Rendell also said it was he who asked former press guy Chuck Ardo to consider signing on as Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson's latest cannon fodder ... er, sorry ... newest press secretary.

"They came to a meeting of the minds and I would have liked to have been present at that meeting of the minds," Rendell said, offering what may well have been the most back-handed compliment we have heard yet.

"Former President Bill Clinton will barnstorm eastern Pennsylvania in support of local Democrats next Tuesday, including a big-ticket evening fundraiser for Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Onorato, speaking today at the Philadelphia Business and Technology Center in Parkside, said the effort will boost his campaign against his Republican opponent for governor, state Attorney General Tom Corbett.

"We’re very competitive with Tom as it relates to fund-raising to date," said Onorato, who refused to say how much he hoped to raise from the event. "This will be key to continue that going. I believe we’ll be successful."

The fund-raiser kicks off at 7 p.m. with a $10,000 per ticket VIP event. Other tickets go for $5,000 [event sponsor], $2,500 [event host] and $1,000 [supporter]."

In the meantime, Republican Tom Corbett is set to attend DN columnist Stu Bykofsky's annual comedy night for charity -- which is also on Tuesday. We can't help but wonder which event holds more potential for hilarity

Good Monday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
We hope you had a peaceful and restful weekend. There's a bit of news to cover this morning,so let's just dive right into it, shall we?

National Democrats ...
... have roped PA into their nationwide effort to tie mainstream Republicans to the Tea
Party movement, our friends at PA2010 report.
Last week, operatives from the Democratic National Committee sent out nearly identical statements asking GOP hopefuls Mike Kelly (3rd CD); Mike Fitzpatrick (8th CD); Lou Barletta (11th CD) and U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent (15th CD) where they stood on the movement.

"As the Tea Party movement takes over the Republican Party,” DNC spokesman Michael Czin said in one such statement, “it’s important that the people of the 3rd Congressional District know if candidate Mike Kelly plans to join the Tea Party in the House of Representatives and align himself with this particularly radical wing of the Republican Party.”

Sorry ... there's only one thing we think of when we think of the Tea Party:

Here's The Problem Facing Gov. Ed ...
... when it comes to finding new state money for roads and bridges.

On the same day that the Democratic governor's barnstorming bus tour rolled into Ellwood
City on the Ohio border Friday, a lawmaker from another part of rural western Pennsylvania was holding a golf outing for supporters who paid as much as $2,000 each for the privilege of supporting his re-election campaign and spending a few hours on the links under a blazing August sun.

In other words, Rendell, a lame-duck who leaves office in January, is looking to his legacy.

But the 253-members of the General Assembly who face voters in November are simply looking for another term.

And that means they're unlikely to do anything to screw it up — like casting a vote in favor of the tax and vehicle fee hikes that the governor says are necessary to close a $450 million hole this year and to provide a stable funding source for a roughly $1 billion backlog of road and bridge repairs.

"They're not voting for taxes," said Terry Madonna, a political science professor and pollster at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. "They'd be loath to vote for taxes in a non-election year."

Rendell has asked lawmakers to cut short their summer vacations and return to town on Aug. 23 to address the issue.

Lawmakers, in return, have sent a pretty clear message: You're going to be awfully lonely that day.

"Everyone understands there's a need," but there's no consensus on a solution, said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.

The lack of agreement hasn't stopped Rendell from using his bully pulpit to drum up public interest in the issue – perhaps the only arrow remaining in his quiver during the five months that remain before he leaves office.

Rendell's been selling the cause for transportation funding as both an economic one (healthy roads means jobs come back) and one of public safety (fixed bridges mean fewer people getting hurt).

"Public safety is greatly threatened by structurally deficient bridges and crumbling roadways," Rendell said during a stop in Allentown last week, providing a glimpse of the rhetoric he's employed while on the hustings.

For lawmakers, though, the call for new transportation funding is just one issue among the several meaty topics they'll be asked to address for the handful of days they're in session this fall.

Also on tap: a proposed tax on natural gas drillers and the authorization of a legislative budget office that's a top priority for the Republican-controlled state Senate.

The House is in session for just 17 days between mid-September and mid-November. Just three of those days fall in October, when most lawmakers will be on the trail campaigning for re-election. The Senate has 10 voting days scheduled between Sept. 20 and Oct. 14. It is not in session during the post-election "lame duck" period before Thanksgiving.

The Transportation committees in the state House and Senate have each held a series of public hearings on the funding question. And backers believe that if a solution is to come before year's end, it'll be the result of a stubborn education campaign for both the public and recalcitrant legislators.

Rep. Joe Markosek, D-Allegheny, who chairs the House's transportation panel, said his panel's hearings, coupled with outreach to lawmakers showing them which bridges and roads will go unrepaired in their districts without new money, is starting to change minds.

"There's a better sense that this isn't a phony issue where we're just looking for more money," said Markosek, who acknowledged that the political and economic climate means that he's in for a tough climb.

Markosek said he believes the fact the outreach is coming from him as well as from Rep. Rick Geist of Blair County, the transportation committee's ranking Republican, has given his message more credibility.

"In a time of partisanship, this has been a good example of bipartisanship," he said.

U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner ...
... of Ohio will be in Harrisburg on Thursday for a fund-raiser for fellow Republican
David Argall's bid in the 17th CD.

The event at GOP state headquarters on State Street starts at 1:30 p.m. It couldn't come at a better time for the Tamaqua legislator, who's been badly trailing Democratic incumbent Tim Holden in the fight for campaign cash.

The stop in Harrisburg is one of several that the tangerine-hued boss will be making on behalf of PA Republicans next week.

Fund-raisers are also on tap for Tim Burns in the Johnstown-based 12th District; Tom Marino in the 10th CD, Pat Meehan in the 7th CD and Mike Fitzpatrick in the 8th CD, we're told.

Rep. Jim Gerlach, R-6th, will also benefit from Boehner's largess during a 5:30 p.m. reception at the Philadelphia Marriott West in Conshohocken. Admission runs from $250 for the general reception to $5,000 for the VIP Reception, which includes a photo.

We can't vouch for this, but we'd urge attendees to bring their own spray-on bronzer. You'd hate to look like the lead singer from The Cure next to Boehner's turkey-basted visage, wouldn't you?

Update #1:
Looks like the first debate has been confirmed: 27 September at 8 p.m. before the PA Chamber of Business & Industry's annual dinner at the Hershey Lodge. Corbett & Onorato are listed as guests. Ditto for Pat Toomey and Joe Sestak.

Update # 2:Corbett press guy Kevin Harley got back to us a short time ago. He's dismissed Onorato's criticisms and says his boss is sticking by his no-tax pledge -- which apparently extends to shale.

That said, Harley appeared to leave the door open a crack when he said Corbett would be opposed "at the beginning," of the industry's presence in the state. Which could mean that Corbett would be open to revisiting the issue later on -- or not.

It Must Be Lonely ...
... at Camp Onorato this morning.
Think about it: there they sit, sacks of cash overflowing, boxes brimming with broadsides about Tom Corbett and the unemployed. But the one thing they can't do is actually face their opponent to lob them personally.

But, this being the digital age and all, Team Onorato doesn't actually need to personally confront Corbett to hurl questions at him. Thanks to the wonders of the Interwebs, they can e-mail press releases to reporters, posing rhetorical questions, almost as if Corbett had agreed to their request for 1,457 debates between now and Election Day.

That's an exaggeration, but not by much. More astute readers may recall that, earlier this summer, Onorato challenged Corbett to 14 pre-election debates, a request that caused Corbett operatives to spew milk all over the fronts of their pinstriped suits that they tragically cannot have dry-cleaned because (according to them) the unemployed would rather stay home than take those positions.

But we digress ...

This morning, Team Onorato cluttered our mailbox with the fifth in a series of imaginary debate press releases, this time asking Corbett: "How will you preserve public safety with ‘voluntary’ drilling standards that are written by the gas industry?”

This question is not quite the same as "How long have you been eating barbecued unicorn?" But it's fairly close, the intimation being that Republicans are owned body and soul by the drilling industry. Or we could be reading into that.

In any case, we've forwarded the challenge to Team Corbett and will post their response when we get it.

Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
It's the weekend. And even though it's early, we've already reached some Happy Hour of the soul, where we're on a beach, sipping Margaritas while comely young things dance to the lilting strains of Joe Sestak speeches remixed at 120 BPM.

So ... some people's ideal worlds differ from others, what can we say? But while you imagine your ideal vacation spot, why not also check out the best and the rest of this morning's political headlines.

Our Washington Colleague ...
... the irrepressible Colby Itkowitz takes a look at what the federal stimulus extension will mean (or not) for Pennsylvania's 55,678 school districts. And she primarily finds that the roughly $390 million in federal assistance will go to save teachers' jobs.
"This is going to have a tremendous impact in terms of offsetting the number of furloughs and layoffs projected in school districts across the state," said Wythe Keever, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teachers union.
Because teachers cannot be laid off for economic reasons, but can be under the guise of program cuts or declining enrollments, this money means that some axed programs might be restored at struggling districts.

Pennsylvania Democrats ...
... meanwhile, have teed off GOP U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey for opposing the federal aid to states, PA2010 reports.State Democratic Chairman Jim Burn said Toomey, who opposes the bill because it adds to the federal deficit of "said Toomey was “valuing Wall Street and Big Business over middle class jobs in Pennsylvania.”
In a statement, Toomey's campaign spokeswoman, Nachama Soloveichik, said the bill was another government bail-out.
“Will the bailouts ever end, or will you force hardworking Pennsylvania taxpayers to prop up fiscally irresponsible entities forever?" she asked.
You mean ... like ... extending the Bush tax-cuts, for instance?

DEP Secretary John Hanger ...
... has blasted back at New York lawmakers critical of Pennsylvania's drilling in the Marcellus shale, the Times-Tribune reports this morning.
Empire State lawmakers cited drilling activities in Dimock, Susquehanna County, as an example of how not to exploit the natural resource when they passed a ban on the drilling technique known as "hydraulic fracturing," or "fracking" on Tuesday night.
"I think because the state of Pennsylvania was so thirsty to get this development opportunity they did not have enough infrastructure in place, making sure they were inspecting the wells properly, making sure that landowners were protected," he said Tuesday night," N.Y. Sen. Antoine Thompson, D-Buffalo, said when lawmakers passed the bill.
In response, Hanger accused N.Y. lawmakers of riding the moral "high horse while consuming Pennsylvania gas."
"If they are so ashamed of what's gone on here perhaps they should stop buying Pennsylvania gas," Hanger said.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).
Aching to spend some quality time in Indiana County today? Got $2k burning a hole in
your pocket? If so, you, too, can join Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Indiana, for his annual golf outing at Lenape Heights Golf Course in scenic Ford City, Pa. Admission starts at $30 a head for dinner for an individual up to $2,000 for sponsors.
Now, here's one that just confuses us: Sen. LeAnna Washington, D-Philadelphia, holds her 10th annual birthday celebration tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Belmont Mansion in Philly. Admission is $300. If you go, please come back and explain to us how it is that Sen. Washington is only 10 years old.
And on Sunday, The Lord's Day (by which we mean veteran character actor Jack Lord) is defiled by a pair of events. At 2 p.m. someone we assume to be a House candidate named Rosemary Brown holds a BBQ picnic at the American Legion Post in Milford, Pa. Admission is $20 for an individual and $30 for couples.
And at 4 p.m., Sen. Bob Robbins holds his annual BBQ at a fire hall in Greenville, Pa. Admission is a flate $25/person.

Friday's Finally Gratuitous Soccer Link.
We end the week as we began it, with the Guardian's very excellent Premier League previews. First up this morning, it's plucky Fulham FC, the London club home to such American stars as Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra.

OK. That's it for now. We'll be back later today with the usual mix of gossip, half-truths and outright fabrications you've come to expect from us.

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Todd Eachus seeks a Field Director
to join his re-election campaign. This position offers an excellent
opportunity to gain a unique knowledge of a key area in a major swing
state, make connections with key constituencies in the Democratic
Party, and to successfully run a field campaign for both this race,
and in conjunction with the coordinated ticket here in Pennsylvania.

The responsibilities will include:
Executing the field plan in place
Managing canvass teams and volunteers
Volunteer recruitment
Meeting contact and vote goals daily and in each ward
Various other tasks, as per the needs of the manager and candidate

Qualifications:
Willing to work smart and hard, as well as long hours.
Willing to relocate to Northeast Pennsylvania.
Ability to think quickly and work independently.
Commitment to the Democratic Party and it's success.

The addition of Ardo could lend some stability to Thompson's office, which has been bleeding personnel for the last few months. At minimum, it might produce something approximating a coherent message out of City Hall.

HARRISBURG: Mayor Linda Thompson today announced that Chuck Ardo has agreed to join her team as Communications Director. Ardo is a former spokesman for Governor Ed Rendell and served in multiple communications roles in several states prior to his days is Harrisburg. He will begin his new job on Monday morning.

“I am excited to have Chuck on board,” said Mayor Thompson.” He is already familiar with most of the issues and has an established relationship with key players as well as the press. I’m confident he will be as successful in his new role as he has been in so many others. I appreciate his willingness to come out of retirement to serve the Administration.”

Ardo left the Rendell administration in 2009. He's been working as a consultant for the state House Democratic Campaign Committee since then.

The $26 billion federal aid package offers the state $600 million toward Medicaid costs. But state lawmakers drafted and Rendell signed a budget hoping for a $850 billion handout, leaving the state short.

Rendell told reporters Wednesday that cuts and layoffs remain likely but decisions won't be made until next month. The governor discussed ways of raising revenues, but that raised hackles among lawmakers this election year.

The federal legislation also contains roughly $380 million for Pennsylvania's school districts, The Associated Press reported. It was unclear what if any impact that might have on the state's budget. Rendell had said the school spending comes with strings attached.

The U.S. Senate is expected to pass the $26.1 billion aid package before week's end. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she is calling her members back next week — the U.S. House adjourned last week for August recess — to vote on the bill.

To help fill the state's budget gap, Rendell said he'd ask lawmakers to consider raising new revenues, including resurrecting a proposal scrapping a part of the tax code that gives large vendors, such as Wal-Mart or Home Depot, a 1 percent discount for remitting their sales tax to the state on time.

That proposal got an immediate thumbs-down from Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R- Delaware. "We don't have any interest in raising new taxes," he said during a brief interview, suggesting that the lost money could be made up through spending cuts across the budget.

It shouldn't be that difficult, he said, if Rendell approaches the reductions in a spirit of collaboration.

Elsewhere In Today's Headlines ...

The U.S. Secret Serviceis investigating a Hellertown amusement company's use of a target-shooting game that challenged players to hit the heart and
head of an image resembling President Barack Obama, our colleague Christopher Baxter reports this morning.Irvin Good Jr., president of Goodtime Amusements, said Wednesday he didn't imean to offend anyone by offering "Alien Attack" at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Big Time fair in Roseto. But the game sparked a complaint.
"I guess we made an error in judgment, and we apologize for that," said Good, who has had the game for about six weeks. "I voted for the man. It wasn't meant to be him. If they took it that way, we apologize."
The game's target is a painting of a black man in a suit who is holding a scroll labeled "Health Bill." He sports a belt buckle fashioned after the presidential seal, antennae and a troll doll on his shoulder.
Not meant to be Obama? Seriously?

Add One Mouse, Subtract $674,000.That's how much sales are down in the Capitol cafeteria, apres Rodentgate, the Patriot-News reports this morning.
Sales for the first two quarters of 2009 totaled nearly $1.1 million, while figures for the first two quarters of this year were just $407,738.
More astute readers will recall that the cafeteria, operated by Philadelphia-based Aramark (the company that brings you $8 drafts and $7 hot dogs at the Linc) was shut down for two weeks last December after state inspectors found mice droppings, under-heated dish-washing water and other disgustingness in the Cafe. It had not been inspected for four years prior to that. It was inspected monthly until June, the newspaper reported.

A State House Committee ...
... spent yesterday debating whether juveniles should be sentenced to life in prison without opportunity for parole, the Philadelphia Daily News reports.
Yesterday's three-hour hearing by the House Judiciary Committee centered on legislation sponsored by Rep. Kenyatta Johnson, D-Philadelphia, that would juvie lifers a shot at parole after their 31st birthday if they've served at least 15 years of their sentence.
Typically enlightened PA tops the nation in juvie lifers, with 450, or nearly a quarter of the nation's 2,000 juvenile lifers, the newspaper reported.

Democratic 7th CD Candidate Bryan Lentz ...
... is keeping shtum on claims that his allies helped get a tea partier onto the fall ballot to split the conservative vote with GOP nom Pat Meehan, our friends at Capitolwire report.
Lentz's people referred all questions about the ballot access to the campaign of independent candidate Jim Schneller.
And just when you thought that race couldn't get any more bizarre ...

A Bill Providing ...
... much needed fiscal relief to state governments cleared a key procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, but state lawmakers and Gov. Ed Rendell still have some hard choices ahead of them.

With the state in line to receive about $600 million worth of federal Medicaid assistance, the Democratic governor, acting in consultation with the General Assembly, will have to shave $250 million from the $28.04 billion budget he signed into law last month. The spending plan hinged on receiving $850 million in so-called temporary "FMap" assistance from Washington.

The Senate voted 61-38 to invoke cloture, or cut off debate on the bill, which provides a 6-month extension in federal stimulus aid to states. A final vote could come as soon as Thursday or Friday. The bill still requires action from the U.S. House and it was not clear whether the chamber would cut short its summer break to act on it.

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Rendell said the $250 million loss, which will likely be made up through an as-yet-unspecified number of layoffs and spending cuts will be "significant, but it's better for us."

Rendell had originally pegged the number of lost government jobs at 20,000, but he has since twice adjusted that number down, first to 12,000 and now to roughly 11,000 -- 2,000 teachers; 5,000 municipal employees and 4,000 state employees.

Rendell said decisions about lay-offs would be made public in early September.
To help make up for the lost cash, Rendell said he'd ask lawmakers to consider raising new revenues, including resurrecting a proposal scrapping a part of the tax code that gives large vendors, such as Wal-Mart or Home Depot, a 1 percent discount for remitting their sales tax to the state on time.

"We don't have any interest in raising new taxes," he said during a brief interview, suggesting that the lost money could be made up through spending cuts across the budget.
it shouldn't be that difficult," he said, if Rendell approaches the reductions in a spirit of collaboration.

The six-month extension in federal stimulus will expire after Rendell leaves office in January. And the Democratic governor said his successor and lawmakers will come away empty-handed if they turn to Washington looking for another extension.

"They can ask, but they're not going to get it," he said. "That was one thing that was made clear. That's why I think the no-tax pledge that [Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom] Corbett is taking is a bad idea."

Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
The hands of the doomsday clock are set at five minutes to midnight. We have officially
cried havoc and loosed the dogs of that nice lady who's chained herself to the Capitol and we're combing the Book of Revelations to find some kind of appropriately apocalyptic metaphor for what will happen if the U.S. Senate shoots down the $16 million aid package for states this morning.

And the only thing we can come up with is this:

Or at least that's the impression you were left with after listening to Gov. Ed, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter talk about the implications of the Senate rejecting the aid package, which includes roughly $600 million in federal Medicaid assistance reimbursements for Pennsylvania.

In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Rendell said some 12,000 public sector employees would likely lose their jobs if the state does not receive the money. The tally was adjusted downward from the 20,000 figure that the administration has been using for months.

The U.S. Senate is set to hold a procedural "cloture" vote sometime today. According to Boxer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is optimistic that Democrats have the 60 votes to break a Republican filibuster. Earlier this week, it was not clear that this was the case.

Backers say the Senate vote would be a good omen for approval by the U.S. House, which does not return to session until mid-September. If Democrats can't break the filibuster, Rendell said he'd immediately begin moving money into reserve accounts and start making budget cuts. Lay-offs would take effect sometime in early September.

Keep it here for the latest. But let's delve into the rest of the day's headlines, shall we?

In A Conference Call ...
... with reporters this afternoon, Gov. Ed provided some additional details on what could
happen if the U.S. Senate passes a $16 billion piece of legislation that provides education funding and a six-month extension in federal Medicaid assistance to states.

Three thousand teachers, 4,000 state employees and more than 5,000 county and municipal employees could lose their jobs if the bill fails, Rendell said. That's less than the 20,000 jobs that the administration originally projected, but it's still not good.

We’re fighting to keep good jobs. We’re fighting to keep the economy rolling in the right direction," said Rendell, who appeared on the mid-afternoon conference call with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat.

The U.S. Senate is slated to vote as early as Wednesday morning on a so-called "cloture" motion that would cut off debate on the bill and allow a final vote. Boxer told reporters that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was "optimistic" that he'd secured the 60 votes needed to pass the motion, but she didn't offer guarantees.

If approved, the bill would offer about 70 percent of the support it originally provided to states. For Pennsylvania, that's about $595 million, down from the original, anticipated amount of $850 million.

Republicans had resisted the bill because it added to the federal deficit. Democratic supporters say the revised version of the bill before the Senate tomorrow is fully paid for through a combination of spending cuts and "closing tax loopholes," Boxer said.

"It's tough to understand why any [Republican] colleague would not support it," Boxer said.

Rendell argued much the same, pointing out that states across the nation had balanced their budgets on the assumption of federal money from Washington. Legislative Republicans in Pennsylvania roundly criticized the administration for such rosy thinking.

"We are looking at very real possibility that governors across this country will have to to extend cuts made in education system and that means fewer teachers in classrooms. That’s one of the sad consquences of this," Ritter, of Colorado, said.

Rendell said he's based his lay-off scenarios on the loss of $850 million. If the bill comes in at $250 million less, "we'll go back to the drawing board." Rendell said he'd meet with legislative leaders next week to talk about those plans.

If the bill fails, Rendell said he'll immediately begin moving money into so-called "budgetary reserves" to hedge against the lost federal cash. Lay-offs would come in the first or second week of September, he said.

Jim Creedon ...
... the long-serving secretary of the Department of General Services is leaving state
employe to start a management consulting firm in the Lehigh Valley, the Rendell administration said this afternoon.

Creedon joined the administration in 2002. He became DGS secretary in 2005, replacing former Bethlehem Mayor Don Cunningham who left to become Lehigh County Executive and short-lived gubernatorial candidate.

"Jim Creedon, along with Ron Naples, has done an extraordinary job in leading Pennsylvania's federal stimulus effort," Gov. Ed said in a statement. Since the beginning of the stimulus initiative, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee consistently ranked Pennsylvania among the best states for rapid progress in allocating its Recovery Act transportation funds. We appreciate the hard work he has done for Pennsylvania,"

Rendell has appointed Elizabeth O'Reilly, currently the deputy secretary for public works, to succeed Creedon.

Creedon ran the implementation for Pennsylvania's share of federal Stim cash in 2009 and will continue to work on that project as a contract employee, the administration said. Creedon will be paid $5,000-a-month for his work, administration spokesman Gary Tuma said. Naples, the co-director, had been on a $10k/month contract, but that will be reduced to $5,000, Tuma said.

We've also put a call in to Creedon's office for details of his Lehigh Valley venture. His last day is Sept. 3.

Only In The Dog Days Of August ...
... an animal rights activist from Blair County named Tamira Ci Thayne has
chained to herself to a doghouse on the Third Street side of the Capitol to call attention to a Senate bill that would ban the chaining of dogs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Undeterred by the fact that the Legislature won't be in session for at least another six
weeks, Thayne, the founder of a group called "Dogs Deserve Better," says she'll be outside the Capitol from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day to focus public attention on the issue.

"I'm going to be here waiting for [them]," she said. "I'm rallying the troops."

As we resisted questions about precisely WHO will walk and feed Thayne during her self-imposed captivity, she told us she's been trying to get the law passed for six years now without success.

"They're suffering," she said, holding aloft a 20-lb chain that she claims was used to constrain a dog that "could have fit through my cat door."

"On a 90-degree day, a chained dog without shade or water could easily die," she said. "They don't perspire. They don't sweat. I don't think any living thing should be chained to something."

Asked whether there's ever an appropriate time to chain up an animal, Thayne said she has no problem with people who briefly chain their animals so they can defecate. But she's adamantly opposed to "24/7 chaining" for the pooches.

"This law is a big compromise for me," she said. "This is the law that's on the table and I will take something rather than nothing."

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Franklin, is now before the Senate's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

"Two Republican senators released a 74-page report today of what they deemed the 100 most wasteful spending projects in last year's $787 billion economic stimulus package, including more than $100,000 to research effects on cocaine-snorting monkeys at Wake Forest University.
Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona listed just four projects in Pennsylvania, and in two of the examples the commonwealth shares the money with other states.
But Pennsylvania does get the honor of having the third most wasteful project, according to Coburn and McCain: the North Shore Connector in Pittsburgh with a whooping $62 million federal infusion. The project would extend light rail under the Allegheny River to a new casino and to the stadiums of the Pirates and the Steelers.
The other three Pennsylvania projects listed in the report:
15. Tree Planting and Urban Forest Creation (NV, SC, PA, GA) – $2.6 million
Pennsylvania received $300,000 of that total to plant trees, according to the report.
97. The Wheels on the Stimulus Go Round and Round (Clearfield, PA) - $1.4 million
Money goes to Fullington Auto Bus Company to purchase new luxury buses to transport people from Harrisburg to other towns in Pennsylvania, according to the report.
98. Artists Get New Digs (Wilton, CT and Philadelphia, PA) - $184,650
Apparently this has to do with turning a garage into an art studio in Connecticut as well as Philadelphia receiving some money for artist workspace, according to the report."

More astute readers will recall that Gov. Ed has been frantically waving a red flag for months, warning that without $850 million in funding for Medicaid, he'd have to eliminate thousands of public sector jobs.

He spoke with legislative leaders in a conference call on Monday during which both Democrats and Republicans agreed to see what the U.S. Senate does before they draw up any contingency plans.

The Senate had planned a procedural vote to move forward on the bill Monday night, but Democrats delayed the vote until Wednesday because a budget scoring revealed it added an additional $5 billion to the deficit.

The aid package includes $16.1 billion for Medicaid reimbursements to states and $10 billion in education aid. Democrats, in an attempt to fend off Republican objections, aimed to offset the spending with other cuts.

Rendell's spokesman, Gary Tuma, declined to talk about what contingency steps could be taken, but did acknowledge that the administration's budget office has drawn up several scenarios in response to the loss of any federal assistance.

Rendell and state lawmakers adopted a budget hinged on federal help despite warnings extra money from Washington might not materialize.

Tuma said Rendell planned to meet with legislative leaders on Wednesday, but has been pushed back till next week.

As we reported yesterday,Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said Pennsylvania will probably receive about 70 percent, or $595 million, of the $850 million in federal Medicaid assistance it was expecting.

"We're still optimistic that we'll get a substantial part of the $850 million," Pileggi,R-Delaware, said.

Elsewhere in the day's political headlines ...

Want To Know How ...
... Lackawanna County plans to use $20 million in state money to fix PNC Field, home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees?
You could be stranded on base.
No one — not the team, not the company that operates the stadium, not the local county commissioners, not even Gov. Ed's office — was saying publicly yesterday.
"We are not commenting on this issue, so I would just refer you to the governor's office," said Lynne Shedlock, communications director for Lackawanna County.
A $20 million grant would be the largest given in Rendell's administration, surpassing $18 million for a Dauphin County park last year. The money would come through the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
And it's your money, folks.

Good Afternoon, Everyone.
Welcome to this week's edition of Pennsylvania's No. 1 Political Podcast.

On the eve of a U.S. Senate vote, we discuss the fate of $850 million in federal Medicaid assistance money for Pennsylvania; the ongoing debate over transportation funding and the latest in the race for the Governor's Mansion.

Added bonus: We discuss "The Beckham Experiment," in the very first installment of the "Politics as Usual" book club.
So sit right back and join hosts John L. Micek, Scott Detrow and Alex Roarty as they bring you up to date and put you in the know.

Click the download link below to start the flow of high-fidelity audio goodness.

Then in April, they heard Republican gubernatorial candidate Sam Rohrer speak at a town-hall meeting. They went away so impressed by Rohrer's quiet, plain-talk brand of libertarian conservatism that they ended up going door to door for him in their suburban Lancaster neighborhood.

When Rohrer lost to Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett by more than a 2-1 ratio in the May 18 Republican primary, the Nelmses were bitterly disappointed - but not enough to go back into political hiding.

They are now among leaders of a very small but impassioned effort by some Rohrer fans to mount a write-in effort for their man in the Nov. 3 general election for governor.

The odds against such a campaign succeeding are monumental. Gov. Rendell got almost 2.5 million votes in his last election in 2006. Even the loser, Republican Lynn Swann, got 1.6 million votes.

Rohrer himself has not said if he would encourage a write-in effort. He said he wanted to see if it got "any real legs" before making any comment."

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi ...
... says the state will probably receive about 70 percent, or $595 million, of the $850
million in federal Medicaid assistance money it was expecting.

In a briefing with reporters this morning, Pileggi, R-Delaware, said state officials will probably have a clearer idea of where Washington is heading by Wednesday morning.

"We're still optimistic that we'll get a substantial part of the $850 million," Pileggi said. "By Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, we'll know whether we will have to begin implementing contingency plans.

Gov. Ed spoke with legislative leaders this morning, via conference call, to bring them up to speed on an expected U.S. Senate vote tonight that would determine the fate of the state assistance.

"It's a smaller problem than the $850 million, but it's still a problem," Pileggi said.

The $26.1 billion bill now before the Senate would provide a six-month extension in Medicaid benefits to states. It includes a lower rate of medical assistance reimbursement than had been sought by state governments.

The Rendell administration has warned that as many as 20,000 state and local employees could lose their jobs if Congress fails to approve the money.

So far, the administration has not outlined where it would make reductions if Congress approves a reduction in state aid.

But it appears likely that a $250 million increase in the state subsidy for kindergarten through 12th-grade education, which was included in the $28.04 billion budget that was signed into law last month.

"All of us who are looking at it [the budget] realize that is a large increase that is purely discretionary," he said.

Pileggi said he expects that the administration will present lawmakers with a list of proposed reductions that the Legislature would then "react" to. It was not clear how much would require actual legislative authorization.